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Ring A Day: 700 Photos From a 365 Day Jewelry Challenge

Marthe Le Van assembled 700 fun and creative images of rings from a Flickr
design challenge of which more than 16,000 were done in one year.

Challenge artists to come up with different ring designs for a year,
photograph them, and post them to the Ring A Day group on Flickr,
and what will you get? A Brooklyn jeweler came up with that challenge in 2010
and she received over 16,000 photographs at the end of the year. Marthe Le Van
then assembled 700 creative and unique designs from the project for her book, Ring
A Day: 700 Photos from a 365 Day Jewelry Challenge. Brief biographies are
listed of all the featured ring designers, and all photographs are set in a
diary or dated notebook entry style for each day.

How the Ring A Day Project Started

The RAD (Ring A Day) project was a Flickr photo sharing project in 2010 set
with these parameters: make a ring a day for a year, with whatever materials
you have available on any given day (and with whatever time you can squeeze in
for the ring), take a picture of it, then post it to the Flickr group. Those
who participated expressed their creative sides and sometimes used the rings to
show the world a special event, such as using a saved-cork from a Champagne
bottle opened on New Year's Eve.

Ring A Day Materials Used: Old, New, and Found

The materials that the artists used for the rings are varied, and sometimes
inspiring. Edible creations (rings made with food) were made of torched angel
hair pasta (day 73); fruits and vegetables (day 85); rice noodles (day 318);
lime zest (day 142); a piece of chocolate (day 359); and even a curved octopus
tentacle (day 173). Days with ordinary materials — such as paper, tape, and
string — were shown alongside days with rings made of fancy gemstones and sea
shells.

Along with the culinary theme, the copper ring creation shown on day 324 was
a multi-function utility ring which was a kabob maker and an alfalfa sprout
pot, and also a candle holder. Day 203 featured a unique ring for roasting mini
marshmallows over a match.

Functional rings include a pin cushion (day 229); mini vase or flower
holders (days 4, 79, 148, 158); pencil sharpener (day 105); a mini cleaning
brush (day 209); a sundial (day 336); and even a tin foil holder for chocolate
chips (day 115). A unique use of letters and the printed word came in the form
of cut-out sentences from paper, and a contraption made of four individual
rings that turn to read different words such as 'love' and 'life.'

Since designers had to create rings each day of the year, some seemed to be
spur of the moment with whatever they could find with no further fabrication on
their part, such as making a ring from plastic bubble wands or a curved piece
of scrap sand paper or piece of bark that formed into a ring. Other rings were
not made to be worn, and were photographed from things outdoors such as a ring
found on a patch of grass and one on cement. Animals were even used in the
creative process such as a cat's tail twirled around a finger.

Some rings were not created from actual materials at all. On day 32, a ring was
photographed that was created from kindergarten children's pointer-fingers
surrounding an artist's finger. Technically, it is not a tangible ring that
could be worn, but a unique take on a ring, nonetheless.

Recommended for Crafters Needing Ring Design Inspiration

Ring A Day provides 700 images of rings that were created with all
kinds of materials representing different shapes, colors, and formats, such as
one-finger rings, multiple-finger rings, and more. If you have a particular
material that is plentiful in your craft box that you need help fabricating
into jewelry, this would make a great stepping stone on using those for
interesting designs.

Many designs were thought-provoking and inspiring, some were comical, and
others were useful such as a Parmesan cheese grater ring was made on day 68.
Despite the varied nature of the rings, they all give would-be ring designers a
starting point for ring design.

Book Information:

Ring A Day: 700 Photos
From A 365 Day Jewelry Challenge; by Marthe Le Van

Lark Crafts, an Imprint of
Sterling Publishing Co., 2011

ISBN13: 9781600598241

Paperback, flexbound, color
photographs, 256 pages

Disclosure: This book was provided to the author from the publisher. Any
opinions are the author's own.

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